Curious about studying Sport & Exercise Science - BSc (Hons)at University of Staffordshire? We've gathered all the key details—entry requirements, modules, fees, and more. Hear from real students by checking out reviews, or take the next step by booking an open day to explore it for yourself.
Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
Stoke-on-Trent Campus
Full Time
Sep 2026
3 Year
Want a career where you could play a major role in a top athlete’s success or help an injured or elderly person to walk again? Our Sport and Exercise Science degree leads to lots of exciting opportunities, pushing the boundaries of human performance. We have graduates who run their own businesses, work for professional football clubs and national sport institutes, and who’ve landed jobs as far afield as the US and Australia. It all began with the skills, experience and connections they developed here at Staffordshire University. Our degree is also endorsed by the Chartered Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (CASES), which means we meet rigorous national standards. What’s more, our industry links include associations with professional sports clubs, national governing bodies, healthcare providers and education and training providers. On the course, you’ll explore the fundamentals of exercise physiology, sport psychology and biomechanics. It will involve practical studies in both laboratory and field settings, using our contacts with a wide range of organisations. You’ll learn how to apply your skills and knowledge in different ways, so you could be working in elite sport, helping with rehabilitation, or improving health and wellbeing within the community. You could be putting data to use or developing personalised intervention programmes and coaching regimes. Our facilities include specialist labs for physiology, body composition, biomechanics, and strength and conditioning. From building muscle strength through applying appropriate training principles - including the use of Olympic weightlifting - through to understanding the science of movement and the physiological and psychological demands of human performance and rehabilitation, you’ll get to grips with lots of specialist equipment. Other opportunities include working for our Peak Condition Service, where you’ll help real athletes under supervision from CASES-accredited staff. Additionally, you’ll be delving more deeply into how we get the body working better with exercise interventions. We cover all aspects of strength and conditioning, endurance training, and rehabilitation, while exploring how individuals can achieve optimum performance. We continue to develop ties with the International Universities Strength and Conditioning Association (IUSCA) who offer summer placements supporting athletes and university sport in the USA. Our academics bring a wealth of expertise and experience to the degree, including world-class research in areas such as the biomechanics of movement and human performance, nutritional support of athletes, and psychological wellbeing and performance under pressure. You can get involved with supporting their research projects, as well as completing your own piece of research for your dissertation. On successful completion of study, we will issue the following award: BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science or BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science (Strength and Conditioning).
You will attend a series of lectures and interactive student-centred Skills Workshops, which will include the appreciation and development of CV writing, study skills, employability skills, self and career management guidance. In particular, you will review the skills and qualities you already possess, with reference to how they relate to those skills and attributes regarded as crucial for research and critical by employers. During this module you will develop: 1. Effective Learning Skills: Time management, different learning styles, effective note-taking, behaving professionally in Sport and Exercise settings; compare and evaluate information from a variety of sources; prepare for and learn from assessment and feedback. 2. Communication Skills (a) Written communication: preparing, writing and presenting an essay including referencing and citing of information; preparing, writing and presenting an individual research project including a literature review, methodology, results and discussion section; (b) Reading and verbal skills: asking effective questions in class and group discussions; recognizing and constructing an argument and taking into account other students' views; selecting, analysing and comparing a range of print-based information; (c) personal communication skills: giving effective presentations to groups.
This module aims to provide you with an introduction to the coaching and teaching process and the opportunity to develop your knowledge and skills in coaching and teaching groups and individuals. Principles of effective planning, organising, reflecting and conducting coaching sessions will be covered and introduced in lectures and further developed in practical sessions. In addition, you will be introduced to risk management issues that affect coaches and coaching sessions.
You will attend a series of lectures and interactive student-centred workshops focussed on sport and exercise research methods and analysis. In particular, you will be introduced to research methodologies and processes, including both qualitative and quantitative approaches to research design and to the ethical issues involved in sport and exercise research. You will develop your understanding of planning a research project and developing research questions. You will explore quantitative research methods and analysis, and use statistical packages (e.g., SPSS) to analyse, interpret and represent data as well as exploring qualitative research methods and analysis with a focus on data collection and analyses techniques.
This module will provide a basic knowledge of the underlying concepts and principles associated with sport and exercise nutrition and metabolism. Including dietary recommendations, nutrient structures, sources and functions and effects of inadequate intake, digestion and absorption, energy metabolism, fluid balance and thermoregulation, acid base balance and energy balance. Body composition and dietary analysis techniques will be covered.
In this module you will be introduced to several psychological concepts that have applications in sports settings: 1. Selected theoretical, approaches to understanding human behaviour within sport and exercise settings. 2. Basic processes underlying learning and performance in sport using a human cognitive model. 3. Selected psychological theories that have been applied to exercise adoption, participation and adherence.
This module provides an understanding of contemporary topics in sport and exercise psychology focusing broadly on issues arising from the study of individual differences, affective states (e.g., anxiety and mood) and social factors (e.g., leadership and group cohesion). You will be provided with theoretical and research knowledge on a range of contemporary sport and exercise psychology related issues. Sport and exercise research methodologies will be explored and critically analysed. The importance of engaging in exercise or physical activity from a broader society perspective will also be outlined.
The purpose of this module is to build on the basic understanding of functional anatomy and biomechanics, with a focus on biomechanical data acquisition procedures. You will have practical experience on the measurement of motion, force and pressure, which is applicable to normal gait and simple sporting activities. This module will also introduce you to the assessment of muscle activity during simple sporting movements. Other topics covered within this module are:- Assessment of measurement validity, accuracy and reliability.- Error effects and their solution.- Force and moment analysis.- The importance of angular kinematics.- Biomechanics of high performance athletes.- Introduction to gait analysis.- Appropriate methods of data presentation.- Application of movement analysis to support exercise prescription.
The focus of this module is on training and nutrition. You will gain an in-depth understanding of dietary guidelines relevant to health, sport and fitness. You will learn how to critically interpret an athlete's/individual?s dietary results. Skills in data collection and analysis, and report writing will be taught and developed, in order to assist with the requirements of the assessments.You will be provided with an in-depth knowledge and critical understanding of the methods and principles of training programme design, relevant for a particular sports performer/team. Content will include, for instance, the concepts of periodised and polarised training, altitude training, and training and adaption in extreme environments.
This module belongs to strength and conditioning route.
This module will require you to build upon your knowledge of research gained the Developing Research Skills module in your first year. Within this module learner's will gain knowledge and understanding of research design, data collection methods, and data analysis skills. You will complete further data analysis skills in either quantitative or qualitative analysis as per the area of expertise your programme demands.You will be required to apply your research skills by planning, conducting and analysing data for a small research project of qualitative or quantitative design.You will then begin to identify your areas of interest for your dissertation project which you will undertake in your final year. This will include developing an understanding of how to construct a proposal and one to one meetings with relevant dissertation supervisors.
This module belongs to strength and conditioning route.
This module belongs to strength and conditioning route. This module provides learning opportunities that will enable you to be critically aware of key issues relating to the effect of growth and maturation on physical performance during childhood and adolescence. You will critically examine the research literature to gain knowledge and understanding of the evidence based approach required to prescribe exercise to children and adolescents in a safe and effective manner. This acquired knowledge, along with taught practical guidelines, will allow you to critically formulate and prescribe training aimed to develop specific physical and physiological attributes (motor skill, strength, speed, plyometrics, agility, metabolic and mobility development) that will support the implementation of talent identification and long-term athletic development strategies. You will be required to develop a critical awareness of contemporary issues in youth strength and conditioning (periodisation, nutritional and injury prevention strategies and the myths of resistance training for children and adolescents).
This flexible module enables you to choose an award relevant topic and type of assignment which is best suited to your current areas of interest and career aspirations. You may choose to conduct a research project where you identify a topic for research, design and conduct an appropriate study, analyse and interpret data you have collected, and write and submit a report in line with the Sport and Exercise format for dissertations. Alternatively, you may conduct a piece of work based on an identified need in Sport and Exercise. This need may emerge because of voluntary work experience or links with local employers within the field of study related to the award being undertaken. Examples of work in this area might include the production of web resources, guidelines for best practice, evaluation of local government sport policy, audit of coaching practice in a local sports club etc.
This flexible module enables you to choose an award relevant topic and type of assignment which is best suited to your current areas of interest and career aspirations. You may choose to conduct a research project where you identify a topic for research, design and conduct an appropriate study, analyse and interpret data you have collected, and write and submit a report in line with the Sport and Exercise format for dissertations. Alternatively, you may conduct a piece of work based on an identified need in Sport and Exercise. This need may emerge because of voluntary work experience or links with local employers within the field of study related to the award being undertaken. Examples of work in this area might include the production of web resources, guidelines for best practice, evaluation of local government sport policy, audit of coaching practice in a local sports club etc.
This module belongs to strength and conditioning route. The module aims to provide experience of learning from and applying knowledge to a relevant working environment. The module provides you with the opportunity to develop key personal and transferable skills by applying your knowledge and skills to a specific context relevant to your course or areas of interest. Whilst the placement module has generic aims and learning outcomes the detail of each placement will be determined by the module leader and other supervisory lecturing staff.
This module belongs to strength and conditioning route. This module serves to integrate the fundamental principles of nutrition to sport and improvement of sports performance, concentrating on a critical appreciation of the literature supporting various dietary strategies and supplements that a variety of athletes could utilise. For example creatine loading, caffeine supplementation, carbohydrate and other substances.An important feature of the module is the design and implementation of a group based research investigation into the effectiveness of a supplement in enhancing sports performance. The module will feature research methodology as applied to Sports Nutrition and will prepare you for the world of work by working as a group to accomplish the task.
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